It would actually be more appropriate to call Willi Stürz a master miner than a master cellarer, as he doesn’t store his most valuable wine in the cellar, but in the mountain tunnel. This wine was even awarded 100 Parker points in 2019. A portrait of the exceptional Epokale from the Cantina Tramin – a bottle that has made history in South Tyrol.
What does Epokale mean anyway, you ask? One answer could be: “significant for an epoch”. This applies to the grapes from which the wine is made. They come from old vines from two of the oldest vineyards around the Nussbaumer Hof and are subject to extreme temperature fluctuations. Warm, sunny Mediterranean days alternate with very cool nights here in the Adige Valley: These are conditions that have ensured that the popular Gewürztraminer has been cultivated here for some time.
The storage and maturing location that Willi Stürz has chosen for his Epokale, one of the five Gewürztraminer varieties produced by the Cantina Tramin, is exceptional. At an altitude of 2,000 metres, they are brought to the mine in the Ridnaun Valley, which can be reached in an hour from Tramin. The temperature here is a constant 11 degrees and the humidity is 90 per cent. It is dark, quiet and almost mystical. It glistens and drips from the walls. Equipped with rubber boots, helmet and headlamp, the path into the 4 kilometre deep tunnel is like an expedition. It certainly seems to be worth the effort.
In 2019, US wine critic Robert Parker‘s Wine Advocate awarded the 2009 Gewürztraminer Epokale 100 points, the highest score in its rating system. This makes it not only the first South Tyrolean wine to achieve the full number of points, but also the first and only Italian white wine ever to receive 100 points.
This is the finest expression of late-harvest Gewürztraminer I have tasted from Italy—and the first Robert Parker 100-point wine from Alto Adige. (…) Gorgeous tones of dried apricot, honey, wild sage, spicy saffron and yellow rose lift gracefully from the bouquet. Subtle mineral tones add sharpness and focus
Monica Larner (The Wine Advocate / Robert Parker)
About the Cantina Tramin:
The Cantina Tramin, founded in 1898 and thus one of the oldest wineries in South Tyrol, today cultivates 260 hectares of vineyards in and around the famous wine village of Tramin with 300 producers, who are respectfully referred to as “co-owners”. The vineyards of the Cantina Tramin are nestled between the municipalities of Tramin, Neumarkt, Montan and Auer at an altitude of between 250 and 850 metres above sea level. Connoisseurs consider the South Tyrolean white wines to be among the best in Europe – and among the most interesting, as rare grape varieties are cultivated here and unusual terroir is cultivated.
photocredits: Kellerei Tramin; Wannaboo; Florian Andergassen; Jan Kusstatscher; Antie Braito